A blog about tabletop hobby and or strategy games, with a side order of electronic turn based goodness here and there. Now with tons of retro gaming content both electronic and tabletop. Also with 20% more self loathing douchebaggery!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Hell Dorado and why we can't have the greatness..

As I have mentioned in a previous post, Hell Dorado is a skirmish miniatures game where 14-15th century Spanish Conquistadors and other factions of that same timeframe find a portal to Hell and decide to invade it.

Well, its a French game by a French company, so we English language miniatures fans have been eagerly awaiting news of an English translated book and US distributors.

According to this post by one of the lead guys on the game, http://www.conf-federation.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=12309.0 , the problem is his bosses are skittish and paranoid about bad press because of the touchy subject matter. Which is somewhat understandable, but not too worrisome. This is hobby gaming. Few people know or care who we are, and your average teen and preteen is too lazy and uninterested for the most part in games that require reading, and building little toy soldiers.

I sent the good man a response with the hopes he could send it on to his bosses as an example of a customer who wants to hand them money for goodies, but cannot because they are worried about nothing at all. Here was my comments:

Sir, I utterly admire and respect your honesty in telling us what is goingon with Hell Dorado.

Ever since I first heard of the concept I was interested, and I have turnedon quite a few people to the game, especially given the MASTERPIECES thathave been sculpted and painted from this line.

Whenever I mention the game online to people and show them the models theyare instantly impressed. Even folks not interested in another miniaturesgame in some cases would buy these figures to use in other miniatureswargames.

A HUGE portion of the line would fit in and SURPASS any currently availablemodel equivalent for Games Workshop's Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 line.

Which also contains icky demons, some nudity, massive amounts ofultraviolence and has overt and not so overt parallels to real worldreligions, history, and politics.

You can buy novels of their stories in almost any bookstore in the UnitedStates. I know science fiction and fantasy fans who read these novelsbecause they are the only "pulp" (Think Conan styled stuff!) books availableas most of the sci fi, fantasy, and horror section has been taken over byfemale written novels that are largely pornography, except with incrediblywell endowed werewolves or other generic monsters taking place of thedashing pirate or English rogue that women's historical romance novels usedto be so much about.

And what's funny is anyone can pretty much pick these novels up. A 12 yearold boy or girl looking for something to read after they finish Harry Pottercan easily get a hold of them.

I haven't heard a single thing.

Many videogames released with a Teen rating in the US have gore, violence,demons from hell, or overt religious themes and nobody bats an eye.

While it IS true that the US has a loud and annoying contingent of rightwing fundamentalist nutjobs, few people listen to them, and largely anythingthey rage against at least temporarily becomes MORE popular. Dungeons &Dragons, Heavy Metal Music, Videogames. (Heck, your mention of Gilles DeRais? A Japanese made videogame called Jeanne D Arc has him as a playablecharacter for huge portions of the game. Except he doesn't look anywherenear as cool as the design you guys and gals came up with! There are evenJapanese videogames released in the US that have you effectively destroyingthe CHURCH, if not God himself. Who usually tends to be an evil being outto destroy us all.)

And tabletop gaming is VERY niche here in the US to the point its largelyirrelevant to anyone's radar to become any sort of target of outrage.

As long as the sexual content is low and the game doesn't denounce Jesus oris racist, nobody is likely to care. Now the Saracen faction (who I want toplay so badly it HURTS) may cause some issues with the Middle East, but theytend to be insanely touchy about religion anyhow as Europe has found out inthe last few years.

Feel free to pass this email on to your bosses and let them know there are agreat many potential customers that want to give money for your fineproducts, but cannot due to their skittishness. And I am sure a few changesin the rulesbooks could easily fix any potential problems withoutdisrespecting your team's original hard work.

I have helped get AT-43 going in my area of the United States and I wouldlove to do the same for Hell Dorado.

If only your bosses would let me and many others all over the Englishspeaking world.